Tiger Riding for Beginners

Traveling Poet Philosopher & Occasional Wiseacre

the grain is ripe. 
 the days are short.
  the farmer, weary.

where hill meets clouds: 
 knuckles of a Hulk-like fist 
  spark a daydream.

in the mountains:
 vivid & invisible
  are dance partners.

Hanuman Langur
 mimics a lounging housecat;
  then paws at nothing.

lean & scratched up: 
 stray cat stares at a leaf
  as if it's ham.

startled squirrel drops
 its nut; so sad for it, but
  we all get a tree.

a shade of orange
 that doesn’t exist in nature…
  yet - there it is!

farm surrounded by jungle:
 what will disappear tonight?

through the paifang*,
 you leave your city,
  but you're not in China.

*A paifang (牌坊) is the gate over a street or road that denotes the bounds of a Chinatown.

Posted on August 6, 2025 by B Gourley

two rivers converge.
 two trails diverge.
  I flip a coin.